ECB to avoid giving signals on rates http://biz.163.com 2006-02-07 12:57:02 来源: 英国《金融时报》中文网 网友评论 0 条
欧洲央行将不“暗示”利率走向
2006年2月7日 星期二
欧洲央行将不“暗示”利率走向 ECB to avoid giving signals on rates
欧洲央行(European Central Bank)行长让-克劳德。特里谢(Jean-Claude Trichet)昨日表示,该机构不会效仿美联储(US Federal Reserve),就未来数月利率的可能走向发出信号,而是准备“随时”采取行动。
The European Central Bank will not follow the US Federal Reserve in sending signals about the likely path of interest rates over many months, but stands ready to act “at any time”, Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, said yesterday.
Any “pre-commitment” on interest rates might undermine the influence of the ECB, Mr Trichet warned in a speech in London. Instead, the bank would “remain pragmatic” and react to “facts and figures”。
His comments highlighted the different approach taken by the ECB, as it starts to tighten monetary policy, compared with its US counterpart, which made clear in advance that rates were likely to rise steadily. The Fed last month announced its 14th consecutive increase in rates since June 2004.
Mr Trichet signalled last week that the ECB would almost certainly raise its main interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 2.5 per cent in March, after a rise of the same amount in December, and his comments yesterday appeared to reinforce that message. But Mr Trichet has refused to give any guidance about whether further increases would follow later this year.
Although Mr Trichet remained relatively upbeat about the eurozone‘s economic recovery, his wariness about signalling likely interest rate trends beyond next month might also reflect the uncertainty about the strength of the upswing. Some economists believe that after raising borrowing costs in March, it may be some time before the ECB acts again.
特里谢承认,操控货币政策好比驾驶汽车,只是预测“前面的方向要凭借后视镜提供的图像”。
Mr Trichet acknowledged that steering monetary policy was like driving a car but anticipating “the direction ahead relying on the images provided by the rear view mirror”。
He warned that the eurozone‘s “potential” growth rate – the pace at which it can expand without creating excessive inflation – had apparently fallen since the 1990s, largely because of lower productivity growth. Raising potential growth needed “sound fiscal policies and an appropriate improvement in the competitive edge within the euro area”。